Can I create a web application without JavaScript, using only Python and Django?

I can understand where that question comes from. Everyone is raving about React, Angular or whatever JavaScript library is just in fashion. This can lead to the impression that it is impossible to build a web application with just Python and Django. Especially a beginner might wonder “do I have to learn JavaScript to get started with web development”?

No, you don’t have to! While JavaScript plays an important role in web development, it remains optional in many cases.

Especially web applications that are focused on content do not require JavaScript. Examples are:

news sites and online magazines

forums

image galleries

blogs

Building such a site without JavaScript can have many benefits, like better accessibility for users relying on screen readers and improved ranking by search engines.

But even more complex applications can be implemented without JavaScript. Not convinced? Disable JavaScript in your browser and visit Gmail. Granted, the HTML-only version is less comfortable to use than its full-fledged counterpart, but it still works perfectly fine.

Now that we have answered the initial question, let’s turn it around:

Can you build any kind of web-application without JavaScript?

No, definitely not. JavaScript enables many forms of user interaction that are just not possible with plain HTML and CSS. The more your web application relies on user interaction, the more sense it makes to use JavaScript on the client-side to implement it. On the backend, Python and Django provide you with everything you need to build an awesome application.